180 Dr. V. Harley. Some of the Effects and [June L 



system its disappearance is accompanied by the liberation of 

 and the development of muscular energy. 



To discover the modus operandi of this is a matter of extreme dii 

 culty, from the fact that when sugar is artificially introduced -into 

 the living circulation it is rapidly distributed to every organ of the 

 body. Tn each of these it undergoes specific changes. So that, while 

 the number of its derivatives are great, the amount of each is pro- 

 portionally small. So small is it, indeed, of some of them, as to 

 render their collection in sufficient quantity for the purposes of 

 investigation next to impossible. However, by the advice and kind 

 assistance of Professor C. Ludwig, I made the attempt, and the 

 present communication, which I have the honour to lay before the 

 Royal Society, embodies in brief the results of the research. 



The methods adopted were briefly as follows : As sugar artificially 

 introduced into the veins is rapidly, and in different animals in vary- 

 ing proportions, eliminated by the kidneys, the ureters were ligatured 

 so as to retain the sugar in the organism. In all cases where it was 

 intended to kill the dogs within a few hours, the ligaturing was done 

 from the front. Whereas, when it was intended to keep the dog 

 alive, the operation was performed from behind, and the ureters tied 

 by means of a ligature-staff, so that, at any given time, the ligatures 

 could be removed without re-opening the wound. In order that all 

 the animals should be under exactly the same conditions, in so far as 

 their assimilative functions were concerned, no food was given to 

 ihem during the previous twenty-four hours. 



A 50 per cent, chemically pure grape sugar, dissolved in normal 

 saline, was slowly introduced into the jugular vein. 10 grams of 

 sugar to every kilo, of the dog's weight were the most usual quanti- 

 ties employed, and the whole introduced in about an hour. 



After the necessary treatment of the various organs, the quantity 

 of sugar was estimated by Allihn's method, the quantity of lactic 

 acid by Drechsel's method, and the quantity of glycogen by Kulz's 

 method. Alcohol, acetone, acetoacetic acid, /3-oxybutyric acid, and 

 ammonia were tested for in the usual way. 



The following is a summary of the facts obtained : 



1. Nervous Phenomena. It was noticed that large quantities of 

 sugar gave rise, in dogs, to a series of symptoms pointing to nerve 

 centre poisoning, their severity varying in different cases. 



These nerve symptoms were generally preceded by, or attended 

 with efforts at vomiting. But, from their stomachs being empty, 

 the animals only brought up frothy mucus. 



In some cases, the irritation of the nerve centres was only shown 

 by muscular movements, causing a trembling of the skin. In other 

 instances the muscular contractions were sufficiently severe to 

 cause a quivering of the limbs, or even well-marked convulsions. 



